Hydro plan pending for abandoned Mineville mines

Moriah town officials, along with James Besha (pictured speaking at Moriah Central School in last February) of Albany Engineering Corp., are still waiting to hear from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission if plans for the Mineville Pumped Storage Energy Facility will be approved.

MINEVILLE — Local residents are still waiting to hear whether or not a multi-million tax break will be coming in the form of a new hydro-energy project.

It’s almost been a year since the application for the Mineville Pumped Storage Energy Project was filed, a project that could more than double the assessed property value within the town of Moriah.

While the application is still pending, Moriah Supervisor Tom Scozzafava remains confident.

Scozzafava said he and James Besha, President of Albany Engineering Corp., have continued to communicate as they wait for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to make a final ruling on the permit.

“The Hydro permit application is still pending,” Scozzafava said.

What is this?

An idea first presented to the public in 2000, the Mineville Pumped Storage Energy Project would utilize the former Don B and Harmony mines, working between upper and lower levels.

When there is an excess of power in the grid, water would be pumped by turbines from the lower to upper levels, consuming energy.

When there is a need for power in the grid, water would be released from the upper levels into the lower, turning the turbines into energy creators.

FERC must approve the permit in order for work to start.

Who owns the water?

The supervisor said there is currently a legal question in place as to who holds the right to the water in the mines.

He said Solvay, an Alpharetta, Ga., based company, owns most of the property, while X-Earth owns the mineral rights.

As for the water, Scozzafava said the matter was handled between the town board and Republic Steel in 1980.

“The water rights were clearly handed over to the town of Moriah by Republic,” he said. “The only caveat was if we do not use the water, then it would be turned back over to Republic, but they are long gone.”

Scozzafava said water in another abandoned mine has been used to provide Moriah Shock’s system.

“If the question is if this counts as a use of the water by the town, I would say it definitely counts,” he added. “We are using it to reduce our tax dependence.”

Currently, the assessed property value of the town comes in around $205 million. Besha said the proposed energy project would be assessed at $265 million, more than doubling the current overall value.

The plan

The Mineville Pumped Storage Energy Project will involve moving water between levels within the 2,500-feet deep mines, using the Don B and Harmony Mines. Water will be pumped to an upper level reservoir, using surplus energy, while creating energy when sent into the lower reservoir through power turbines.

“We expect the way this will work is as a bank and we will serve people who either need to store energy or purchase it,” Besha said in a meeting at Moriah Central School last year. “We are not storing actual energy, we are just moving it through the hydro-electric process from one time to another.”

Besha said the creation of the project will take two or three years in construction, which will provide between 100 and 200 jobs in the area. While he said the contracts for work would have to be given to specialists from outside the area, Besha estimated 70 to 80 percent of the work force could be hired locally.

Afterwards, the company would employ between five and 15 people to handle the operation.

“It’s the real thing that really excites me,” Scozzafava said. “It is not dependent on any type of government funding and will all be done through private funding.”

Along with a boost to the tax base, Besha’s company will also be providing several infrastructure improvements, including renovating Linney Field, water district expansions, and the creation of a new building which, once used as a construction hub for the project, will be given to the town for use as a highway garage.